


Theatrical Queens

by LozisLaw



Category: South Park
Genre: 1980s, Acting, Alternate Universe - Theatre, Broadway, Closeted, Comedy, Coming Out, Dancing and Singing, Drag Queens, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Gay Character, Gay Pride, Hiding, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbian Character, M/M, Pride, Protests, Queer Themes, Rallies, Secrets, Sexual Tension, Show Business, Showbiz Era, Theatre, Theatre productions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:07:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26620375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LozisLaw/pseuds/LozisLaw
Summary: Celebrating and marking the 10,000th South Park work on AO3!!!It’s 1989 in New York, and the Broadway production of a crew of struggling artists comes under fire and is near collapse. It all but takes a ruthless force of nature to save them, but it’s harder than Wendy thinks. And she soon comes to discover there’s more to this crew than meets the eye.Funny how she learns through the only other woman in the place. That should have been her first clue.
Relationships: Bebe Stevens/Wendy Testaburger, Craig Tucker/Tweek Tweak, Kenny McCormick/Leopold "Butters" Stotch, Kyle Broflovski/Stan Marsh, Token Black/Clyde Donovan
Comments: 11
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was seriously timing my post to the exact 10000th work, so I could say I made that number 😂
> 
> And I do not regret it. What a huge and wonderful fandom we have!! I can't wait to include my next hundred works to it :)

The day was fine, a little windy but warm enough to leave coats off.

Wendy entered the theatre studio doors with a pre-emptive intake of breath, sucking in through her teeth before blowing out cooly, preparing herself. This was her routine every time she had to enter a new place that could potentially intimidate her. She had a reputation to uphold, after all. Which was why she was here in the first place, staring in the face of this run-down brick façade building, cringing at the noises coming off from the busy street either side. It wasn’t the nicest part of the suburb, which only pressured the nerves threatening to come back.

Wendy took another deep breath and pulled on her black suit jacket, neatening it before she pushed the heavy French doors open. She made sure to step on only the secure cobblestones with her heels. The last thing she could use today is a broken stud.

It was early spring in Midtown Manhatten, the air was quite stingy for the season, and the chimney smoke coming off the townhouse surrounds scented the sir with a heavy ash fog. The sun hadn’t made its appearance for a few days, where a combination of depressingly drall rain and overcast weather shadowed the city. The building was large, imposing and tall, but in horrible need of renovations, splitting down the bricks with cracks that Wendy decided would be put up high on the list of changes she made to this place. It was a theatre building, more of a studio than anything, but once much more glorious than right now, which made it look abandoned. Wendy checked her pocket book to make sure it was indeed the correct address.

She internally groaned when her pocket book confirmed her fears, and decided to face the music. She wasn’t one to dick around with matters she could handle easily without a cock between her legs. It was a month ago she was at the end of her reigns in terms of theatre management. Her business nearly went under, and her signings fell short before she could save them. Shows got cancelled. Wendy knew she was the best in the business, so she wouldn’t give up. After long negotiations with her parent company, the big assholes upstairs gave her one last offer to manage a small niche theatre production on its last leg. They made it clear it would be her last chance to redeem herself. So she was making sure this would fucking work, because she wasn’t backing down now. Her place was at the top of the world, managing the productions in Broadway. Not in dumps in abandoned parts of town where real estate was a constant tank.

It was degrading to her self-worth to resort to this place, but she swallowed her pride, and bit her tongue, and walked through the front entrance to meet her life for the next year. That’s how long she’d be stuck managing this niche production, and the stage crew already waiting for her inside to lead them to glory. She just hoped they knew what they were doing, because there wasn’t much assurance from such a failing company.

Wendy walked into the building with as much gusto as she could fake, hiding her disappointment in the lack of space in the place. It looked small from the outside, but she’d hoped it would at least be bigger inside the place. The landing looking nearly like a townhouse, where a set of stairs to upstairs confronted the entrance, and the adjacent hallway opened up to a visible gym area that looked set up as a dancing studio. The place was laid out in old hardwood floorboards, in Victorian style townhouse.

Wendy assumed she might get some form of introduction from someone in this establishment, and although she could hear commotion in the place, no one was around to introduce her. Wendy tapped her nails and huffed with suppressed annoyance, and decided to proceed on her own. She technically was in charge from now on anyway.

Hells clacking across the hardwood, Wendy hoped to make a presence as she walked through the bottom floor, looking through the rooms for someone.

When she peeped into one of the backrooms, she finally found two people, sitting down at a communal type table. They hadn’t noticed her entry.

‘’Excuse me?’’ Wendy announced, standing the doorway. The two men turned towards their attention towards her, perking up.

‘’Oh, hey! Can we help you?’’ one of the guys asked, standing up quickly. He was a tall raven haired beauty with a kind smile, sporting a bomber jacket and laidback jeans.

‘’Yes, thanks. I’m just wondering who assumes command at the time being. My name is Wendy, I was commissioned to run your theatre production,’’ Wendy said. The black haired man approached her, trailed behind by a smaller blonde one with big blue eyes.

‘’Oh- you’re Wendy! We were expecting you. My name’s Stan, welcome!’’ the raven haired man smiled, reaching out to shake Wendy’s hand. Wendy returned his smile, wondering which part of the crew this handsome guy played. Surely not backstage, he was too attractive to be hidden behind the scenes. That would change with her in charge, if that was the case.

‘’Hiya Miss! I’m Leopold! But everyone calls me Butters- so you can too,’’ the small blonde one happily chirped. He wore quite peculiar attire for the street man, but weirdly appropriate tightness for this job. She predicted immediately that he was an actor or dancer- something in the limelight.

‘’I’ll call you Leopold. Nicknames are unprofessional,’’ Wendy said, shaking his hand too.

‘’Oh, that’s okay!’’ he chirped. ‘’All the crew just calls me Butters though, so if you hear ‘em doing that just know that’s why.’’

‘’Okay,’’ Wendy smiled, hiding a groan at the reminder that this was the kind of people in this industry she had to converse with.

‘’Wow- you’re so pretty miss,’’ Butters exclaimed. Wendy raised her eyebrows, and glanced at Stan. Stan was pinching his brows.

‘’Butters- the fuck. Keep that shit to yourself,’’ Stan sighed, appealing to Wendy apologetically.

‘’I thought ladies liked to be complimented!’’ Butters said indignantly. ‘’And she is! You’re real attractive!’’

‘’I think that’s enough of that,’’ Wendy said, holding her hand up. Butters went meek quickly, and Stan was still covering his face, now shaking his head.

‘’Sorry dude- Wendy. We’re not all that tactless- I promise,’’ Stan assured her.

‘’If this kind of language is typical, it won’t be for long,’’ Wendy said, staring at Stan, who seemed to be the lead in this place so far.

‘’I don’t talk like that! I respect women!’’ Stan said, holding his hands up. ‘’Butters is just a retard sometimes, we’re not all like that.’’

‘’I do apologise miss- I mean Wendy. I didn’t mean to offend you,’’ Butters said.

‘’As long as you don’t objectify women for their looks before their brains, I think we can move past this,’’ Wendy said. Butters perked up.

‘’Oh of course! I love women! For their brains and all!’’ Butters exclaimed happily. Wendy looked to Stan again to see if he was concerned about this. Stan shook his head.

‘’I swear he’s just like this,’’ Stan said quietly. Wendy hummed, clicking her nails against her palm to restrain herself. Sometimes she went off, and some people took it personally when she went ‘liberal’.

‘’Hey, we’ve been waiting for you to arrive today- so I think most of the crew came in today. The rest of the guys are here too, come on- we’ll introduce you,’’ Stan offered, suggesting her forward. Wendy accepted his lead, and Butters followed suit. She decided to remain calling him Leopold, but she had to admit that nickname suited him absurdly well that she couldn’t think any name but that when she saw his sunny shmoopy face.

‘’We’ve been really looking forward to you coming,’’ Stan said as they headed out into the halls and upstairs. ‘’Our crew hasn’t been doing so well in recent months. Or old manager quit on us, and nobody wanted to fill in for some niche theatre company- well, until you,’’ Stan smiled sweetly at her. She returned it. ‘’We had some members quit and join other productions, but the ones who stayed behind wanted to give you a shot. Though I suppose it’s you giving us as shot.’’

‘’Mmm,’’ Wendy replied.

‘’You’ll love us! We’re like a big happy family!’’ Butters exclaimed from behind them.

‘’Butters- dude, you’ve gotta stop saying that. That’s so gay,’’ Stan laughed. Wendy huffed. Recently there was a rally for gay rights near her apartment. Wendy had wanted to attend it, always liberal for equality, but she had a tedious monthly meeting with her landlord she couldn’t skip, and was pissed off the whole time, hearing the rally going and only able to glare menacingly at her landlord until he ended the meeting early ‘for family reasons’.

Once upstairs, Stan led Wendy into a larger room that looked more like a kitchenette, with tables and chairs occupied by a couple of guys who turned as they entered. Wendy was starting to get concerned over the male population in this place. Was she the only woman?

‘’Guys! Come meet our new manager Wendy!’’ Stan said. Another blonde man perked up and pulled along a stouter brunette.

‘’Thank fuck, you guys. Wendy’s here to save the day!’’ the tall blonde man announced, chuckling and patting the shoulder of the brunette.

‘’Wendy, this asshole is Kenny- the singing coach. That’s Clyde- just a fucking actor,’’ Stan laughed.

‘’Up yours Marsh,’’ Clyde said easily. ‘’What does that make you?’’

‘’Just another fucking actor,’’ Stan supplied with a smirk.

‘’Guys, you’re being very rude to boss woman, Wends,’’ Kenny said. He gestured to her, ‘’Introduce yourself dear.’’

‘’You gentlemen seem very adverse to who I am already,’’ Wendy said. She looked around. ‘’Is this it? The four of you is what’s left? Why aren’t there any females in your crew?’’ Wendy asked sceptically. She wasn’t about to help a sexist production.

‘’Well we got Bebe!’’ Butters exclaimed.

‘’And Kyle should be around here somewhere,’’ Stan added, checking behind him.

‘’This company needs desperate refurbishment,’’ Wendy observed, glancing at the four of them. ‘’More crew members, a bigger establishment, name recognition-‘’

‘’Well, sorry Wends, but we don’t have the money for all that. What you’re looking at it is what you’re getting until we can make a royalty through our show,’’ Kenny said.

‘’Our last manager kind of fucked us over- so we’re just trying to find our feet with who’s left,’’ Stan said apologetically.

‘’Do you guys even have a show to produce? Where’s your scripts?’’ Wendy asked.

‘’We’ll have scripts as soon as Stan writes them!’’ Butters replied energetically.

‘’Yeah, _when_ the fucker writes them. I’ve got no content to fucking teach,’’ Kenny smirked at him.

‘’I’m really close! I promise- I just want it to be perfect,’’ Stan said holding his hands up defensively.

‘’You’ve been promising for months!’’ Clyde argued. ‘’The funding’s gonna dry up if we don’t make anything soon!’’

‘’Okay!’’ Wendy announced, making them all pause, ‘’You need drastic revitalisation it’s not funny. That’s why I’m here. No more collaboration- I’m in charge now. If you want to do something, or get something done, you talk to me first, okay?’’ Wendy said sternly, actually appalled at these people for thinking they could run the show this way. The mess of it disgusted the anal neatness policies within her core.

‘’Boy, we sure are lucky Wendy’s comes to save us huh Ken?’’ Butters said, jostling Kenny’s arm. Kenny smiled at him and raised his eyebrows at her when he caught her watching. Wendy chose to ignore it for now.

‘’Since when am I not invited to meetings anymore?’’ a voice said from the hallway. They all turned to see an angry redhead glaring at them, then at Wendy. Wendy felt his presence in the room sharpen.

‘’Oh! Wendy, this is Kyle!’’ Stan said excitedly, joining Kyle’s side and pulling him forward to her. Kyle kept his irate expression and sharpened his eyes at her. Wendy met his incredulous stare, trying not to let his glaring eyes disarm her like she was feeling they were capable of.

‘’So you’re the Wendy that’s supposed to help us not die in a ditch,’’ Kyle said. He had long curly auburn ringlets held back in a bun, and though he was just shorter than her, and much more than Stan, he looked feisty. ‘’Excuse my scepticism, but the last manager that was supposed to do that fucked us over.’’

‘’Dude, stop. She’s here to help,’’ Stan tried, pulling him a little back. Kyle relented and let Stan do it, and Wendy kept an eye on him.

‘’And where is this Bebe? If she’s real,’’ Wendy said, changing the subject.

‘’Oh, somewhere around here. She’s a free spirit like Kenny,’’ Stan joked. Kyle snorted.

‘’Guys you know I’m a magical land seahorse,’’ Kenny said. ‘’You can’t tame me.’’

‘’Fuck off,’’ Clyde laughed.

‘’Will someone direct me to where your old manager used to work?’’ Wendy asked, cutting out their bullshit.

‘’I’ll show you,’’ Stan offered.

‘’I’ll come too,’’ Kenny said. Wendy rolled her eyes, and let them lead.

‘’Nice to meet you miss!’’ Butters said as they left. She nodded politely, secretly glad to be out of their company. Something about them put her on edge. And that Kyle was a piece of work.

‘’So that’s most of what’s left us, Bebe has a lax work schedule, so she’s here infrequently,’’ Stan said, walking her through the top floor with Kenny to the end.

‘’Bebe’s a whore, she has other jobs during the week,’’ Kenny said. Wendy stiffened, put on edge. If she had been the only woman here before with a theatre company of otherwise men, she couldn’t imagine the shit this poor woman had to tolerate. She would ask her later if there was any problems. Woman to woman.

‘’Dude, don’t say that. Bebe is the costume designer,’’ Stan explained to her. Wendy liked Stan the most so far, she decided, who’s intolerance of discrimination seemed to level hers.

‘’And what is Kyle’s job here?’’ Wendy asked.

‘’Choreographer,’’ Stan smirked.

‘’You’d never guess it, cos he looks like an angry bean with no rhythm,’’ Kenny laughed.

‘’Fuck off dude! He’s really good!’’ Stan argued, shoving Kenny when he snickered.

‘’Stanley here is just in denial dear Wendy. You’ll get used to it,’’ Kenny explained.

‘’Shut up!’’ Stan said, going red. ‘’That’s not right.’’

Kenny rolled his eyes. Wendy wanted to say something, a little crushed at the idea that she could have been pulled into some sort of homophobic dance company. She’d change that. She’d change a lot of things.

They led her to her new office, which was a dark wood-panelled room with tacky old blinds and cobwebs in the corners. Wendy was appalled, and waiting for Kenny and Stan to reveal the joke.

‘’So- this is it,’’ Stan said. ‘’Sorry it’s- yeah.’’

‘’You can’t be serious,’’ Wendy said. ‘’When did your manager leave again?’’

‘’Umm- five months ago?’’ Stan said warily, looking to Kenny for confirmation.

‘’We’ve barely been up here actually. The rehearsal rooms that we all use are downstairs,’’ Kenny said.

‘’It looks like you haven’t even touched this office since they left,’’ Wendy said, wrinkling her nose at the dirt everywhere. There was no way she could move into this place like this.

‘’Sorry, I mean,’’ Stan rubbed the back of his neck. ‘’We’ve been rushing doing little performances and jobs to keep ourselves afloat, but it hasn’t worked very well to help our big show.’’

‘’We seriously need you Wendy. I hope you can save us, cos I don’t feel like finding a new theatre family. This is by far the best one I’ve had in ten years. You’ll see the longer you stick around here,’’ Kenny said, taking Stan and pulling him into a side hug.

‘’There won’t be a longer if you guys don’t clean up your attitude. I need to inspect what everyone here does during working hours. I cannot keep on crew members who don’t pull their weight,’’ Wendy said. Stan and Kenny exchanged a look. Wendy didn’t care that she might be coming off as a bitch. She didn’t get to managing success by being soft and friendly.

‘’Alright,’’ Stan shrugged. ‘’We’ll let the others know. And um- we’ll let you get acquainted with the place,’’ and taking one more look around the room, Stan and Kenny took no more time, and left her on her own.

Wendy took the time to look around, wondering if the room was even amenable to clean. She wouldn’t stay in anything ugly, and obviously the blinds would go. She might paint the walls lighter too, it felt like a sixties cigar house room.

Wendy was in the middle of redecorating in her head when the door opened again. Wendy had shirked off her black jacket to hang off her shoulders, and she turned, hands in pockets, thinking Stan had come back in to talk to her.

So seeing an attractive blonde woman with buzzing curly hair staring back at her, was another shock.

‘’Hello?’’ Wendy said, still standing on the other side of the room. The woman stared for a few seconds, shifting the rolls of paperwork held up by her hip. She blinked a few times with an apathetic expression. Then she broke into a gorgeous radiant smile.

‘’Oh honey! You’re finally here!’’ she beamed, dramatically dropping the papers on the floor and bouncing over them in her heels, rushing over to embrace Wendy. Wendy was taken off guard and let her wrap her in a hug, very confused.

‘’Um- hi. I’m Wendy,’’ Wendy said, surprised at herself. Usually she was the cocky one. The blonde woman leant back and grinned at her, and Wendy returned it, overcome.

‘’Girl- I know who you are. You think I’d hear about finally another woman coming into the crew and I wouldn’t be there to greet her?’’

‘’Oh!’’ Wendy finally understood. ‘’You must be Bebe!’’

‘’Absolutely darling- no doubt these pigs have been talking shit about me,’’ Bebe laughed, jostling Wendy’s shoulder. She stepped away and Wendy finally felt insecure, glancing up and down her and discovering Bebe was the kind of woman who was physically perfection in every way. She even wore the trendy fashions, an pencil skirt and red button up that non-discreetly showed off her over-large boobs. Wendy had never been more conscious of her significant lack of chest.

‘’Well- ah. Let me know if they keep giving you shit in the future. I don’t tolerate sexism,’’ Wendy said.

‘’Oh! Nah, they’re all cool- for guys I guess,’’ Bebe winked. ‘’But I’m super glad you’ve come Wendy, we really need to be friends, or I’ll go freakin’ mad with the lack of girl talk these gaymos want to do.’’

‘’Hey- don’t be insensitive to the LGBT,’’ Wendy said. Her early suspicions of this place being homophobic were gaining stead, and she hoped they weren’t true. Really, really hoped.

‘’Hun- I’m just teasing. Surely you can tell by now that these boys are all gay anyways,’’ Bebe smirked.

‘’Wait- what?’’

‘’Don’t stress about it girl. Just ease into the place. Here! I’ll show you around. Meet the boys officially,’’ Bebe offered, smiling again.

‘’I have already been introduced to them all,’’ Wendy said.

‘’Yes, but have you met them? These guys won’t give you a chance if you don’t first. Trust me girl, I’ve been working with these guys a while. I’m the only girl who’s stuck around all this time- don’t you think it’s for a reason? Plus- they’re just a bunch of kids when you watch them- it’s so fun. Come and see,’’ Bebe said, waving her forward. Wendy watched her bounce back over her dropped papers, and smirk back from over her shoulder, holding the door handle.

‘’Like what you see?’’ Bebe said impishly, moving her hips. Wendy widened her eyes and blushed, keeping her eyes levelled at Bebe’s, and no lower.

‘’Let’s go,’’ Wendy said, avoiding the question, and stepping over the papers.

‘’You do like it,’’ Bebe said, grinning, licking a bit of her red lipstick.

‘’Whatever you say,’’ Wendy laughed.

‘’Sounds like you already have the hang of this.’’

Bebe winked again, and Wendy got the impression that it wouldn’t cease for as long as she was here. She thought for sure she would mind. For sure.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for taking so damn long between updates. 
> 
> I'm here now, ready to leave you hanging again until next chapter 👍

Wendy couldn’t in good conscience be one of those non-existent managers mooching off the crew’s talent and skill and cashing the royalties behind the scenes. It objected to her very core, so of course it made sense to follow the seniors of this production through how things worked. She wasn’t a total asshole, in that she couldn’t learn a thing or two. Bebe seemed to know she was talking about, and Wendy chose to trust her.

It was just- really _really_ , hard to focus. Wendy walked behind Bebe as she seemed to bounce through the upstairs hall like bubbles in fizzy drink. The woman was bubbly herself, Wendy had to admire it. She just didn’t know if she could resist indifference to it. That kind of attitude had always been her kryptonite.

‘’What are you boys doing up here?’’ Bebe called out when they entered the only other habited room in the upstairs studio during this additional introduction tour.

‘’Bebe! What are you doing here?’’ Clyde asked as they walked in. Stan and Butters stopped speaking from beside him. They sat at a lounge area in the centre of the room, which was homier than Wendy expected from a rundown looking place.

‘’Johnson’s studio hired another bitch to design their outfits, so I’m here on Tuesdays now too,’’ Bebe replied, not sounding that sad about it. Huh, Wendy thought this place didn’t give much revenue to the employees. Especially in this tanking period that required Wendy’s superior intervention. ‘’Plus- I knew our new director Wendy was coming. You guys would have created a terrible image without me.’’

Wendy didn’t counter, slightly impressed about Bebe’s accuracy on the situation.

‘’Are you finding everything okay so far?’’ Stan turned to Wendy.

‘’It’s- adequate,’’ Wendy said, splitting a quick glance at Bebe. Bebe apparently caught it, looking away fast.

‘’I do hope you’ll love it here like we do!’’ Butters exclaimed, rubbing his fists together more excitedly than nervously like last time.

‘’For the record- we’re not a useless agency like Stan probably claimed,’’ Clyde said, holding his finger up.

‘’Hey!’’ Stan argued. Clyde held his hands up to him, shrugging.

‘’You must admit you’re a drama queen about this stuff sometimes,’’ Clyde said.

‘’I am not!’’ Stan flushed and glanced at Wendy worriedly.

‘’Don’t worry Stanley, we love you all the same,’’ Bebe waved him off.

‘’I am not guys- Wendy seriously. I’m not dramatic,’’ Stan said, flustered.

‘’Oh shit,’’ Clyde gasped out of nowhere, grabbing his face melodramatically. ‘’Stan, oh my god, I forgot to tell you Kyle asked for your help a while ago downstairs- he’s probably so pissed off at you now.’’

‘’What!’’ Stan exclaimed, standing up quickly. His face paled. ‘’Jesus Christ why didn’t you tell me? He’s gonna hate me now, I gotta go.’’

They all watched Stan rush out of the room, reacting like he saw a ghost. Wendy was surprised- and a little intrigued. Then Clyde started snickering.

‘’I just made that up,’’ Clyde said. ‘’Prove much?’’

‘’ _Oh fuck you Clyde!_ ’’ Stan then yelled from out in the halls. Apparently the walls were thin. Bebe and Clyde cracked up, and Stan didn’t return inside.

‘’Oh jeez, that wasn’t very nice of you Clyde,’’ Butters said with a frown. ‘’You know how much Stan cares about Kyle.’’

‘’Oh please, he needs taking down a peg once a while. That songwriting makes him bigheaded,’’ Clyde scoffed.

‘’Alrighty boys,’’ Bebe said, clapping her hands together, apparently done with this scene. ‘’We’re off to meet the rest of the crew. C’mon Wends.’’

‘’Remember, we’re the better half of the crew,’’ Clyde added as she led Wendy out.

Bebe walked Wendy downstairs again, apparently done with this largely useless section of the studio building. Wendy already had plans for renovating these empty rooms. Bebe’s hair seemed to glisten and bob as she walked, the spritzy curls doing their own thing that just made her look more exotically attractive. Wendy was jealous. As well as something else.

‘’My baby Clyde is just a bit of an asshole, but he’s nothing but a crying softie once you get to know him,’’ Bebe explained.

‘’Oh- are you two, together?’’ Wendy asked, hiding her disappointment with genuine surprise. Those two? She wouldn’t have guessed.

‘’Ha! He wishes, but no honey. He just doesn’t have what I want in a partner. No matter how many shoes he buys me,’’ Bebe grinned. Wendy laughed, pretending to understand half of what she was saying. Wendy wouldn’t go after Clyde herself, she’d admit. But some girls liked goofy in a guy. If she had to pick a man in this crew it would most likely be Stan. Not that she was even considering something so unprofessional and preposterous.

Wendy stopped thinking about it by staring at Bebe’s hair again.

‘’And Stan! Oh don’t get me started on _him_ ,’’ Bebe said, and Wendy realised she’d been speaking this whole time, and Wendy had zoned out there. Oh jesus, embarrassing. ‘’He’s by far the handsomest one in this production, which is why the old director plucked him from the composer position and dropped him in front of the stage as an actor. We were all shocked by it, but surprise surprise, our Stanley was a natural at it- and lord can the man sing! He’s Kenny’s favourite student after Butters. They’re weird.’’

‘’And what’s up with Butters anyway?’’ Wendy wondered, finding it strange the man who looked 19 at best with his soft girlish face and cutesy mannerisms. There was something about him.

‘’Leopold? Darling don’t go there unless you want me to really fuck your ears with chatter,’’ Bebe laughed. Wendy blushed and laughed back.

‘’It’s quite fine. I don’t mind hearing you talk,’’ Wendy smiled. Bebe grinned back at her.

‘’You’re quite the player huh?’’ Bebe elbowed Wendy’s shoulder.

‘’You have no idea,’’ Wendy said. Met with raised eyebrows and a curious twinkle in Bebe’s eyes, Wendy decided to continue and forget it. She might have gone overboard. Women did that all the time, she was just extra cautious of it lately.

‘’Gimme a chance to find out then,’’ Bebe smirked, and said no more as she led Wendy downstairs to the studio rooms. She definitely won there, leaving Wendy frazzled as she tried to stumble stylishly down the creaky staircase.

There was this slightly damp wispy smell about the place, she’d only just noticed, and it was especially bad downstairs. Maybe the floorboards were rotting somewhere. They entered what seemed to be the biggest room of the building, a dance room with full-sized mirrors lining the walls and professional grade floorboards meant for performing. From a tiny stage at the end of the room, sat on it Kenny, Kyle and now Stan.

Bebe led Wendy to them, their heels clacking loud across the floor.

‘’Take those heels off you harpies! You’ll scuff the dancefloor,’’ Kenny shouted at them from the stage, holding his hips in admonition. Bebe shrugged at Wendy, and they both removed their shoes and held them. Now her stockings would be filthy, great. Bebe became barefoot. Even without shoes the woman looked pristine and elegant. Nymph-like.

‘’I won’t be paying subsidy for room damage,’’ Kenny tsked at them, then smiled as if immediately forgiven. ‘’Who said you were allowed back Bebe?’’

Bebe lifted herself up the stage and sat there comfortably, slapping Kenny’s hand away when it offered help. Wendy stood awkwardly down below, watching them. She wouldn’t be quite so familiar yet with near strangers. She had a rep to uphold- as dignified. Or something.

They seemed to just be sitting there talking, though Stan had papers sitting on his lap that he was writing on.

‘’Just thought I’d come and meet our new director Wends,’’ Bebe replied.

‘’Oh yeah? And how are you enjoying the place so far Wendy?’’ Kenny asked. ‘’Quite the shithole you anticipated?’’

‘’You’ll scare her away with that kind of talk,’’ Kyle scoffed.

‘’I assure you, I’m not one easily scared,’’ Wendy reaffirmed, giving Kyle a look. He rolled his eyes.

‘’You haven’t seen Kenny and Kyle in their classic disagreements yet,’’ Stan laughed.

‘’Disagreements!’’ Kyle laughed. ‘’The truth Wendy? Kenny thinks he owns all the fucking talent in this ‘shithole’, and so I’m incapable of teaching our actors how to dance according to him.’’

‘’You suck at dancing!’’ Kenny exclaimed.

‘’I do not!’’ Kyle yelled. ‘’I have a fucking degree!’’

‘’Ah yes. The degree of Jewish dancing, am I correct?’’ Kenny said impishly.

‘’Fuck off!’’

‘’Hey,’’ Stan held Kyle’s shoulder, and Kyle huffed but otherwise backed down. It was like they were little boys, the way they bickered.

‘’These boys have been arguing since they started,’’ Bebe said, waving them off. ‘’You’ll get used to it.’’

‘’If you stick around,’’ Kyle added bitchily, looking down at Stan’s writing.

‘’Dude,’’ Stan said.

‘’What!’’ Kyle flushed at Stan. ‘’We’ve had like 3 different directors now- and every single one failed. The last one threw us into near bankruptcy! I’m sorry if I’m not eager to put all my faith in you Wendy, but you can always prove yourself,’’ Kyle said boldly to her, matching her narrowed eyes.

‘’Well- _Kyle_. I intend to prove myself enough for this production to trust my judgement,’’ Wendy replied firmly.

‘’Damn, I think we might have a good one this time fellas,’’ Bebe beamed, winking at Wendy. Wendy refrained the urge to girlishly wink back. Was it wrong she felt like she was on a team with Bebe against the rest of the crew? No no, that was sexist.

‘’I suppose we’ve never had a woman director before,’’ Kenny offered. ‘’You might just be our saving grace.’’

‘’You better be,’’ Kyle said.

‘’Ignore him,’’ Stan grinned, jostling Kyle’s shoulder. ‘’We’re great fun once you get to know us.’’

‘’I’m sure,’’ Wendy smiled, not really sure what to think of these people yet. She liked Bebe though, and Stan. ‘’So, do you guys just hang out here doing nothing? Kenny mentioned the scripts and content aren’t written yet.’’

‘’I’m really close!’’ Stan said, waving his paperwork. ‘’Give me like- 2 weeks.’’

‘’You’ve been saying that since March,’’ Kenny groaned. ‘’Buck the fuck up Stan and give us what you’ve got.’’

‘’No- I just. I need it to be perfect.’’

‘’Everything you write is perfect Stan,’’ Kyle said, his typical bitchy tone lilting into- softness?

‘’Ah-‘’ Stan and Kyle stared at each other for a few seconds, both red. Oh boy, this-

‘’You are,’’ Stan eventually mumbled shyly in return, looking beyond flushed.

‘’Aww, get a-‘’ Kenny started- and was cut off by Bebe, who slapped his shoulder admonishingly.

‘’Don’t you dare,’’ Bebe warned sternly.

‘’Huh?’’ Kyle apparently noticed the rest of the room again, glancing away from Stan. ‘’Oh- nothing, um. I have to go.’’

Kyle jumped off the stage and hurried his way out of the room, red-faced. They watched him go, and Stan sighed.

‘’It was a good try man,’’ Kenny said, leaning down to pat Stan’s shoulder.

‘’What’s going on?’’ Wendy asked, thinking maybe this was an inside thing she was yet to know. Like- it was obvious. But it shouldn’t be that obvious and actually be true right?

‘’I’ll explain later,’’ Bebe whispered to her. Shivers shouldn’t have run up her forearms from the breath on her ear. And yet.

‘’Whatever,’’ Stan shrugged, avoiding their eyes. ‘’I better go too, actually.’’

And again, they watched another pathetic bastard shuffle out of the dance studio room in an embarrassed flurry.

‘’That poor guy,’’ Kenny tsked once they were gone.

‘’Which one?’’

‘’Stanley. He doesn’t realise he’s wasting his time on a literal melodramatic queen.’’

‘’Do you hate Kyle?’’ Wendy wondered. Kenny laughed, and took a seat beside Bebe, swinging his legs off the edge of the stage.

‘’Hell no. I love Kyle, he’s just got a very flawed way of teaching that objects to mine. And because I’m obviously amazing, he’s obviously wrong,’’ Kenny said.

‘’Have you two worked on many projects together?’’ Wendy asked, trying to get a feel of the atmosphere. She had a feeling a superior (if watching) would be proud of her for digging this deep into the production.

‘’Oh yeah, those two used to dominate Broadway together,’’ Bebe announced proudly. ‘’Back when they were somebodies,’’ she grinned.

‘’Well fuck you too dear,’’ Kenny poked his tongue out at Bebe. ‘’The truth is, we joined a bad crew back then, and it failed so spectacularly that it also screwed our cred. So we’ve been forced into this sad dump to get it back, no one else will hire now. So I’d really appreciate if you could save us Wends. My career depends on it.’’

‘’Well- I’m certainly going to try,’’ no- she will! No failure in Testaburger’s book.

‘’At least you’ve got Leopold,’’ Bebe said with a leering face. Kenny returned it. The two of them reminded Wendy of teasing siblings. They even looked similar.

‘’Yes, and now you’ve got Wendy, dear,’’ Kenny said. ‘’Have at it girls. I wanna watch.’’

‘’If you’re implying what I think you are-‘’ Wendy warned, secretly hot under her shirt.

‘’Don’t worry about it honey,’’ Bebe brushed her off. ‘’Kenny is harmless perv who would watch two butterflies fuck.’’

‘’That was one time,’’ Kenny said. ‘’One fucking time.’’

‘’Still- it’s not appropriate,’’ Wendy said, trying to make herself look serious. She couldn’t abide this shit- really. It was bad enough being too busy working all the time to attend rallies near her apartment, and she might be stuck in a production of male-dominated fetishization. She made the executive decision to have a fucking drink tonight. Or three.

Before entertaining the thought of inviting an subordinate (Bebe) to join her, she started pacing and thinking about interior design.

‘’What do the actors do all day if they’re waiting for scripts to be written?’’ Wendy asked, in thought.

‘’Fuck around and annoy us productive people mostly,’’ Kenny replied.

‘’Butters helps me pick colours sometimes,’’ Bebe countered. ‘’He’s got a good eye for fashion.’’

‘’He’s a stylish motherfucker,’’ Kenny agreed. ‘’Best dressed in Broadway when he’s out.’’

‘’You two go out together often?’’ Bebe asked.

‘’He never learnt how to drive, so I take him places. We have fun, I get him pissed and watch him flirt with telephone poles. The usual.’’

‘’And what does Stan do when he’s not working on that script?’’ Wendy asked.

‘’Oh you mean that and loiter Kyle’s side like a lost puppy imprinted on its saviour? Not much besides that. We don’t do much here right now see, but for some of us it’s our only income right now,’’ Kenny explained.

‘’Aren’t you on the basis of commission based on the production’s success though?’’ Wendy wondered, confused.

‘’We’d need a production for that wouldn’t we? No, the company sponsoring this show was naïve enough to offer a paid deal for the next year as long as we can bullshit our way to making the place look productive. So far it’s worked, but there’s representatives coming in a few weeks to check our progress. Everyone’s a little stressed about that. You know, ‘cause we’re doing jackshit right now.’’

‘’Chinese takeaway expenses have cost more in the past sector than electricity,’’ Bebe said.

‘’And you guys have been coping in this state all this time?’’ Wendy asked, shocked by this disarray. This might be bigger than changing fucking room designs upstairs. She’d get the three drinks tonight to deal with this pressuring news. Fuck it.

‘’We’re dying babe,’’ Bebe admitted. ‘’Everyone was psyched to hear you were coming from the top- believe me. But they were wary- we’ve just been hurt by directors so many times, and this place is truly like Butters said. Like a big family.’’

‘’Aww- he said that?’’ Kenny asked, holding his chest.

‘’Go make out with him already hun, jesus’’ Bebe swatted him. ‘’And fuck off, we need to girltalk now- _alone_.’’

Wendy knew she was emphasising to make Kenny know he wasn’t invited- but she couldn’t help think of the innuendo.

‘’Fine,’’ Kenny jumped up- affecting a sob. ‘’If I’m not even invited to girltalk- that’s fine! I’ll go be alone and put bows in my wigs. Like a fucking BOY!’’

He was obviously making fun of them, but something about the way he walked out of the room implied (just a little bit) of sincerity. Maybe it was the intentional swish of his hips as he flounced out the door. Looked weirdly natural.

Wendy turned to Bebe once he was gone, who was grinning in the direction Kenny left. Given the greenish fluorescent hue of the lights overhead, nothing should have looked flattering under it. And yet here Bebe was, smiling in amusement under it, with her explosion of fashionable curls and red lips, looking just as stunning as she did in the doorway where they first met. It wasn’t fair.

Wasn’t fair to Wendy, who was fighting herself very severely to stop this- whatever it was. It wasn’t a good thing- in so many ways. Firstly- she was her boss!

Secondly- um-

‘’Hey Wends- you doing anything after this?’’ Bebe asked, turning back to her. Oh-

‘’I was gonna go get myself a drink,’’ Wendy mentioned, half mumbling- not sure what she was trying to do here.

‘’Mind if I join you?’’

She would have said no, the thought of drinking with an employee was detestable for all bosses on every level, no matter how fucking _hot_ the employee was.

But it was the way Bebe asked. With absolute clarity and confidence that Wendy was entranced with the fact it was like _Bebe_ was actually the boss, and it was an honour to even get invited. It was her goddamn kryptonite- purely because nobody was actually capable of bossing _her_. Until now that is.

‘’No problem with me.’’

**

And so that’s how she came to be sitting in the closest bar from the studio, Bebe dangerously close beside her, both of them skulling kinky shots with salt lining the rims.

It was meant to be three drinks. Three beers (light- she was on a diet), pleasant casual conversation with her employed costume designer, and going home with a taxi at 8.30, waving Bebe goodbye to her own devices.

And yet (she should have goddamn known), it only took mild intoxication with whom she was realising was a bad drinking partner for her, to say fuck it to everything and let’s go fucking for it. 11pm, and they’d moved onto flirty shots- downing one by one, and fucking sloshed. The bar was loud now, pumping out the latest hits through the jukebox while some trashed couples danced in a drunken daze. Wendy and Bebe were sitting side by side on high stools at the bar- and screw it, she liked Bebe. She was a _GREAT_ drinking partner- they’d do this from now on like- EVERY NIGHT!

‘’Hey hey- what was up with Stan and Kyle before?’’ Wendy finally voiced, glad she was drunk enough to get away with whatever the fuck she wanted. She’d been holding her tongue all goddamn day, trying to be ‘respectful’. Barf.

‘’Those two boofheads?’’ Bebe took her time thinking about it, glaring heavily into her glass in concentration. ‘’Honey, I don’t even know. No- I think Stan might be um- what is it? Likes fucking asses- or- sucking dick.‘’

‘’You mean gay?’’ Wendy said slowly. ‘’He’s gay?’’

‘’No no- I didn’t say that. You can fuck asses without being gay- surely. And chicks suck dick all day and they aren’t called gay, wait- why are we talking about this?’’ Bebe asked, blinking at Wendy. She scowled- still attractive dammit, into her empty shot glass.

‘’Cause I asked. But I dun wanna know if thas’ the answer,’’ Wendy shook her head. ‘’I thought the crew was homophobes earlier. Cos they made fun of them.’’

‘’You can’t be a homophobe if you’re a homo,’’ Bebe dralled. ‘’Din’t ya know that?’’

‘’Sure you can,’’ Wendy waved her off. ‘’Cause most homophobes are gayasses.’’

Bebe cackled- still attractively, and Wendy sighed, leaning further into the bartop. ‘’Why’re you working in that dump. You’re like- hot- _aand_ \- um clever,’’ she saved herself there.

‘’I’m broke too babe,’’ Bebe said, putting her head on her arm. ‘’Didn’t the shoe brand tell you that?’’

‘’I was too distracted to care about your brand of shoes honey. Hey why do you call me _honey, babe, sweeetie_?’’

‘’Don’t you like it? My girlfriends need their recognition- and we’re gonna be girlfriends right? Not in the gay way- or-‘’

Bebe stared drunkenly at her, now drooling onto her sleeve. ‘’Are we?’’

‘’No! Well- I’m not- and you? Why are we talking about this,’’ Wendy looked away and wished she had another glass to sink her face into instead of starting to feel a dull pain looming that would make its official appearance come morning. Alcohol would prolong the inevitable- but ugh.

It was getting late.

‘’I didn’t realise you’re a prude about this stuff,’’ Bebe said through her thoughts.

‘’I’m not- I just. I’m sensitive about it,’’ Wendy said, realising she was contradicting herself.

‘’S’not gonna get easier if nobody’s willin’ to discuss it,’’ Bebe pointed out, licking the rim of her glass despite all liquid long ago been purged.

‘’That’s true,’’ Wendy agreed, surprised. ‘’So you’re an ally?’’

‘’Fuck yeah I am,’’ Bebe announced. ‘’All my life too.’’

‘’Me too,’’ Wendy smiled. At least she had that reassurance. Whatever she’d been thinking earlier- that was sober crap. Drunk clairvoyance was the way to go. ‘’Wanna go to a rally with me?’’

‘’Which one?’’ Bebe asked. ‘’I’m like- in the shitty part of the area. I bet you’re rich aren’tcha?’’

‘’I’m- funded,’’ Wendy said, glad that Bebe laughed. She had such a girly giggle- it was intoxicating. ‘’Hey- hey, what did you think of me when we met?’’

‘’Fuckin’ sweet- another girl to talk to in this sausage party,’’ Bebe cackled.

‘’Nah- but like, me in particular,’’ Wendy said.

‘’Oh. I noticed the black hair- and like, face first,’’ Bebe said. She leaned close, and pulled Wendy’s hair behind her ear to whisper. ‘’And- uh, noticed how pretty and _sexy_ you are.’’

Wendy laughed herself, bright red but grinning when Bebe pulled away. Wendy leaned forward this time- but just on her hands. Completely bolstered and confident- like always.

‘’And suppose I let you do something about it? What would you do?’’ Wendy said, showing some teeth. Bebe looked incredible at that point, visibly delighted at their progress in this obvious seduction, blue eyes contrasted intensely by her red cheeks.

‘’Whatever I can get away with _honey_ ,’’ Bebe leaned further again. With the flash of red smirking lips, a flip was finally switched, and reality dropped.

‘’Um, okay. No, I-‘’ Wendy fell back into where everything was in the world, and this was a bar- and she was drunk. Too drunk to be doing this. Fuck. ‘’It’s- late. I should go.’’

Bebe seemed to react just as fast; easy enjoyment replaced with grim measure on her face. Wendy was disappointed but relieved. She couldn’t do this shit- not in this situation.

‘’Yeah- alright,’’ Bebe sighed and stood up from the barstool, grabbing her purse. ‘’Put it on my tab Carl,’’ she called to the bartender.

‘’You’ve been here often?’’ Wendy thought aloud before remembering she should be keeping her distance here. That meant keeping Bebe at arm’s length at work, both emotionally and physically. Any closer from now on and this dangerous moment might happen again. And it could not.

She had a job to focus on and succeed. That meant no irrational attractions to subordinates, and no drunken affairs.

‘’I come here from the studio sometimes with the guys,’’ Bebe shrugged. ‘’I live nearby.’’

Outside the bar, it was cold in the air, and Wendy wished she’d thought to bring a warmer jacket than the professional ‘boss’ one she wore now. Bebe shucked on a trendy brown leather jacket.

Wendy avoided her eyes while they had that awkward moment before saying goodbye. They dragged downwards, and Wendy finally noticed Bebe’s shoes. She had no idea what Bebe was talking about, because despite their less chic brand, Bebe rocked them like stilettos anyway.

‘’You’ll be okay getting home?’’ Bebe asked.

‘’I called a taxi,’’ Wendy replied, meeting her eyes. Bebe looked sad, but she was obviously just as drunk as Wendy felt- so she couldn’t be too disappointed. Likely she’d forget everything come morning. Bebe sighed.

‘’You’re such a fucking tease.''

‘’Well- I’ve gotta be good at something,’’ Wendy replied slowly.

‘’You’re probably good at everything nerd,’’ Bebe smirked. ‘’I’ll see you in the studio.’’ And with that, she walked away in the opposite direction, heels tapping loudly against the concrete sidewalk. Leaving Wendy alone with a mungled head and dazed eyes. She watched Bebe get tinier, and eventually disappear down the street.

The taxi arrived, and Wendy stumbled in- feeling dizzy.

The driver got about 20 seconds of road cleared before Wendy vomited in the backseat.

**Author's Note:**

> [Follow me if you choose :3](https://www.instagram.com/lozislaw/)


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